Phil Taylor was the defending champion, having won the last seven editions of the event and he reached the semi-finals, where his 38-game unbeaten run came to the end against James Wade. Michael van Gerwen won his first World Matchplay title by defeating Wade 18–12 in the final.[1]

In previous stagings of the event all games had to be won by two clear legs with no sudden-death legs. However, in 2013 after consulting the host broadcaster Sky Sports, the PDC decided that games will now only proceed for a maximum of six extra legs before a tie-break leg is required. For example, in a best of 19 legs first round match, if the score reaches 12–12 then the 25th leg will be the decider.

The top 16 on the PDC Order of Merit qualified as seeded players. The other 16 places went to the top 16 non-qualified players from the PDC ProTour Order of Merit who were unseeded players. The field was confirmed on 5 July following Players Championship 14.[3]